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View Poll Results: Do you think Chicago is part of the Rustbelt?
Yes 39 48.75%
No 41 51.25%
Voters: 80. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-07-2010, 01:47 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
I would say that it would extend northward to Milwaukee and Madison and westward to Davenport and south to Saint Louis (targeting mostly Peoria and indirectly B-N and Springfield).
Madison? That town is the antithesis of "rust belt". There has never been much of an industrial presence there, and there is virtually NO abandonment anywhere to be found. The economy of Madison is largely government and service based, with a new emphasis on biotechnology and medical eqipment/software that has sprung up from the University of Wisconsin. The two largest employers are still the State of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin.

The only industrial plants in Madison of any size are Rayovac and Oscar Mayer, and both are still functioning today. It has never been a base of manufacturing, and the economy is quite strong.
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Old 06-07-2010, 02:27 PM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,832,267 times
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Yes, historically Chicago is part of the Rust Belt, as it was a very large manufacturing center, albeit more diverse, industry-wise, than Pittsburgh or Detroit..

I would also say that ( on its western edge) Rockford, Janesville, Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee are part of this belt; Madison, though, is outside of it...
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Old 06-07-2010, 07:09 PM
 
Location: Lower East Side, Milwaukee, WI
2,943 posts, read 5,040,039 times
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If the name "Rust Belt" didn't carry the negative connotation of urban decay and sky high crime rates, then I don't think this would even be an issue as to whether or not Chicago is a Rust Belt city. I don't really view "Rust Belt" in a negative way, but rather more as a geographical term and use it interchangeably with "Great Lakes" when referring to the region. I find it to be more accurate than Upper Midwest, which includes states like IA, ND, and SD that have different demographics and no real history of heavy manufacturing. The Rust Belt is an overlapping of the Northeast and Upper Midwest regions. Culturally the cities in this area of the U.S. share much in common with one other. For instance, Buffalo shares more qualities with Cleveland than it does with Boston, likewise, Milwaukee has more in common with Pittsburgh than we do with Omaha. Chicagoland is located at the convergence of the Rust Belt and the Corn Belt, but due to its manufacturing past and demographics, I place Chicago firmly in the Rust Belt category.
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Old 06-08-2010, 10:29 AM
 
515 posts, read 981,105 times
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Chicago a rust belt city? I think geographically and historically, yes. Socioeconomically, no.
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Old 12-09-2010, 07:18 PM
 
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I don't think it's just a question of geography. It's like asking whether a college in the East is an "Eastern" college.

My sense is that some places in and around Chicago are Rust Belt, and some aren't.
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Old 12-09-2010, 07:26 PM
 
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Yes, obviously Chicago is part of the Rust Belt.

Unless Chicago picked up and moved somewhere else, it's on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes region is the Rust Belt.
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Old 12-09-2010, 07:34 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
1,374 posts, read 3,239,758 times
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Yes, Chicago is very much a part of the so called "Rust Belt" of Americas midwest. You often don't hear many speaking about it, but Chicago is also losing a decent percentage
of it's mammoth population ... and there are abundant, old industrial areas of the city that resemble similar areas of Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
For some strange reason, many people don't identify Chicago as being a "Rust Belt City", when it clearly is. I think most people equate the enormity of the city to be a disclaimer when it comes to the whole moniker of being "Rust Belt", and this simply is not true.
There are several rustbelt areas / cities in the state of Illinois ... Decatur, Peoria, Bloomington / Normal, just to mention a few others.
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Old 12-10-2010, 03:41 AM
 
765 posts, read 1,851,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner View Post
Yes, Chicago is very much a part of the so called "Rust Belt" of Americas midwest. You often don't hear many speaking about it, but Chicago is also losing a decent percentage
of it's mammoth population ... and there are abundant, old industrial areas of the city that resemble similar areas of Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
For some strange reason, many people don't identify Chicago as being a "Rust Belt City", when it clearly is. I think most people equate the enormity of the city to be a disclaimer when it comes to the whole moniker of being "Rust Belt", and this simply is not true.
There are several rustbelt areas / cities in the state of Illinois ... Decatur, Peoria, Bloomington / Normal, just to mention a few others.
Have you been to Chicago?

Chicagoland metropolitan area is growing steadily in population. What truly separates Chicago from its neighbors is that the city is still competitive in the new global economy. It is a major financial and transportation hub, and it has many world class amenities that its neighbors dont quite have. It still retains the status of the alpha world city while its neighbors have faded. Chicago also is attracting human capital etc. I mean really, Chicago stands its ground. Its neighbors are more unfortunate, especially Detroit.
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Old 12-10-2010, 05:22 AM
 
976 posts, read 2,230,487 times
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chicago is absolutely a rust belt city; in many ways, it's the capital of the rust belt. of course the city has a much more polished veneer than its neighbors, but it is one of the most segregated major cities in the country, and has some terrible neglected neighborhoods just like every other rust belt city. the mere fact that chicago is larger, more diverse and more well known than other more typical rust belt cities doesn't mean it doesn't share many of the same characteristics. not every part of chicago is like the loop or river north or lincoln park. that city has some of the most appalling socioeconomic disparities in the nation. chicago is absolutely a rust belt city, it just happens to be performing better than most.
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Old 12-10-2010, 07:36 AM
 
Location: Virginia Highland, GA
1,937 posts, read 4,685,779 times
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It is definitely in the belt, but is not really a Rustbelt city, say compared to Detroit.
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